The Truths of Existence: In the Course of Time
by Blossoms of Lilly
Summary: OC's Genevieve and Charlotte come across an old alchemy book and are sent into Amestris! There, they meet and befriend the new FMA gang as they battle an unknown villain 'Injustice'. Suspense, romance, action, funny bits, and our new FMA gang consists of some of our favorite character's children! Is set 23-24 years in the future in Amestris.
1. Chapter 1

**(A/N) - Hello and welcome fellow Fullmetal fans! I have had this idea stuck in my head since forever, and can't just let it sit there unattended to with cobwebs! So, this is only my second story. Knowing this, if anyone has any advice for me after this chapter, feel free to leave a review! Otherwise leave one if you like it or even hate it, I enjoy reading what you viewers are feeling so throw it at me! Warning: there will be budding romance between my OC's and some of the FMA character's children later on :3 Disclaimer: sadly, I don't own Fullmetal Alchemist/Brotherhood, or any of its charming characters.**

**I listened to the Fullmetal Alchemist OST 3 Soundtrack while writing this chapter. If you want to listen to it on YouTube. Or if you already have the CD, just pop it in and enjoy! Without further ado, the first chapter~**

...

Mop sloshing across the weathered wooden floorboards, Genevieve Greyson cringed at the smell of bleach and baby vomit. She had only been feeding the little thing for about a minute, and once she was done with her bottle did the girl decide to projectile barf all over the ground. It was just what was needed for her already cheery mood. She hated waking up early to the cries of a hungry, needy child. And now she was swabbing the floors; miserable and tired.

But that's to be expected, when you work at a foster care building.

Genevieve herself was an orphan. She had never known what a family was like even when she was introduced to the 'Every Child Counts' Foster home. She didn't have any siblings that she knew of. Let alone parents that cared for her. She was told by the head 'mother' of the foster care association that she was dropped off on a corner in a car seat. She was told that she was lucky to be alive; that if the by-stander didn't pick her up and bring her to the foster care house, she would have died from the snow and cold temperature.

Now seventeen and unwanted as a foster kid, she gave up her dreams of finding a happy family. She resorted to working at the very place she despised. In return, they let her crash in one of the older bedrooms that no one used anymore. She shared the room with another girl her age; they both bonded quickly over being forced into the same dilemma.

Charlotte Loche was her roommate and best friend. She was also an orphan since birth, dropped on the foster home's doorstep. Being the same age, the two had grown up and bonded like sisters. Never leaving the other's side, the foster families would reject them because they were always in need for only one child.

Sighing, Genevieve finished up her chore quickly. Not wanting to stand there smelling like blown baby chunks, she hurriedly made her way to the shared bathrooms down the hall. All the while not realizing that she had almost run straight into a tall thin figure.

Mrs. Captor stood in the middle of the corridor, arms folded and foot tapping. Clearly annoyed with something, the woman let out a little huff of impatience as Genevieve slowly took in what was happening.

"Oh!" Genevieve laughed as she gathered herself, "I'm so sorry Mother Captor; I didn't see you standing there."

The older woman raised an aggravated gray eyebrow over the girl's head and towards the source of the horrible stench that was now wafting throughout the halls. She was wearing a dark purple dress and pinchy black heels. Her red reading glasses were perched at the tip of her nose as she fixed her graying hair that was thrown into a high, tight bun.

The woman tore her icy gaze back to Genevieve and took a wavering deep breathe, "Ms. Greyson, exactly how much bleach did you use?" Her aristocratic English accent rang in Genevieve's ears as she tried to think herself. It was six in the morning, and this woman was already up and prissy?

"Umm...see-" Mother Captor rolled her pale brown eyes.

"-And what did I say about mumbling? You know; it is not very proper for a young lady." Genevieve started to fiddle with the handle of her smelly orange bucket. Mrs. Captor, one of the 'mothers' that took care of the children, was always harassing her on what to say, or how to do her job. Wherever Genevieve was, Mother Captor wasn't that far behind; waiting for the perfect moment to pounce and scold her.

"Yes," Genevieve spoke clearer, "I understand Mother Captor. I'm sorry for the interruption; I was just cleaning up a mess from one of our babies."

"That still doesn't excuse the odor," Mother Captor scrunched her face, making it even wrinklier than it already was, "thanks to you, most of the infants are up." Genevieve wondered if it was the smell, or just the woman's screechy British accent that stirred the children. She questioned how the old bat even made it into the U.S.; they were probably fed up with her in Europe as well. She wouldn't be that surprised.

Genevieve nodded her head and solemnly excused herself from the grouchy hag. Making her way down the old rickety hallway, she cursed her real mother for leaving her to a woman like that.

_'I mean really, who would just up and leave a newborn baby on the side of the road? In the winter none the less.'_ She couldn't understand how someone could abandon the cute children that resided in the building she lived in.

Their faces were so sad and drawn from sleepless nights, wondering where their real parents were and if they were going to come fetch them. Genevieve didn't have the heart to tell the pure souls that their parents weren't coming back for them, that they had left them. So instead, she wore a fake smile and allowed the children to call her 'Big Sis'.

Finally throwing the remnants of the foul smelling bucket into a toilet, she inched herself out of the bathroom stall in order to wash her hands. God what she wouldn't give for a nice warm cup of hot chocolate, or a good romance movie. Genevieve and her roommate had stolen a broken television one of the 'mothers' had brought out to the curb a couple weeks ago. They had dragged it in with one of the kid's red wagons and fixed it up so that they could sit in their cramped room with some entertainment.

Smirking at their accomplishment, Genevieve turned the hot water on to lather her hands. But instead, she was met with an icy cold current. Almost freezing her fingers off, she yelped in shock and waved her hands around in the air in order to get the feeling back into her fingers.

The stupid water heater was broke again. Hadn't they just called a plumber not too long ago? Knowing what would fix her problem, she walked up to one of the dozen sinks attached to the long tiled wall. She reached her arm out and banged on the faucet a couple times before turning the hot water back on.

_'Works every time...'_ Pleased with her handy work and the now warm water that was trickling out; Genevieve smirked and glanced to the mirror in front of her.

She wasn't disgusted by the girl staring back at her, she was just slightly disappointed. Her golden blonde hair rested un-brushed and tangled at her chest. Her green eyes were muddled with sleep and depression.

Often times, she would find herself wondering what those bright green eyes could be seeing if she wasn't in a rotten place like this. If she had a family. If she had friends. What would her life be like if she was actually wanted by her real mother?

If she was loved by her actual parents, she could be living in a nice warm home. She could be surrounded by brothers or sisters, a dog even. She could go to her grandparent's house for Christmas and sing carols like in the countless books she's read, or the numerous movies she's watched. She could've gone to school and gotten an education, played on a sports team, or ran for student body president. She could actually spare the time to care about how she appeared. She could've had all of that.

Except, she didn't have any of those things.

She wasn't wanted, or loved, or worried about. She didn't go sing Christmas songs, she swept the floors and took care of kids. She didn't go to school or play sports, she read to babies and threw dirty clothes into hampers. She did everything she was told. Everything that was expected of her, she carried through without complaining or breaking a sweat.

Feeling warm tears stream down her flushed cheeks, Genevieve slammed the water off and slid down to her knees. Covering her face, she breathed in the scent of bleach and a hint of vanilla from her dampened hands. Not a very pleasant combination, but it snapped her out of the funk she was currently in. What was she doing?

Was she feeling pity for herself? She refused to let such simple thoughts ruin her title of big sister. That's right, she had a duty to carry on. To watch over _her _children.

The kids didn't run to the 'mother's' for help when they couldn't tie their shoes or button up their own pants. No matter how gross her tasks were, she made sure that the children came first before anything. That was the job of protecting them, protecting them from the loneliness and hollow feelings no one ever shielded her from.

Pulling herself off the ground she had just realized needed to be washed, she whipped the drying tears from her eyes and marched out of the bathroom. Still in her pajamas, she decided that she would run to her room before heading down to the bottom floor to start breakfast with some of the mothers.

Genevieve all but flew up the stairs and to the top floor to where her shared room was. Knocking on the door before entering, she waited to hear her roommate call from the other side. Charlotte had to be up by now; she had to go teach Bella how to read at seven.

"Come in!" she heard Charlotte's little chirp from inside the room and opened the door. Their tiny, cramped bachelor pad wasn't all that bad. They had two beds, one off to each side of the room in order to keep the peace, a small window set in mid-wall. They had a little night stand in the middle of the room which held the now-fixed television. There was also a dresser that they shared which was on the right, and then a small desk with a lamp on the left.

Genevieve briskly walked past her friend who was holding the antenna to the T.V. and turning the old dial to get the channel she wanted. She noticed that Charlotte was already in her day clothes.

"What are you doing up so early Eve?" Charlotte trilled from behind the television as she called Genevieve by her old childhood nickname. Genevieve was sorting through possible outfits as she replied.

"I had the pleasure of picking up vomit this morning," Charlotte popped her blonde head up.

"Hey that's an upgrade!" she smiled, "yesterday morning you had to clean up John's poo-"

"Yeah well it was still chunky and gross!" Genevieve cut her friend off, not wanting to remember how little Johnny couldn't make it to the bathroom in time...

Shuddering, she picked out a plain army-green t-shirt and brown shorts. The summer days were getting even hotter and not letting up on the huge building that was supplied with no air conditioning. How they all survived throughout the night was a mystery to both girls. She threw her clothes off and got dressed, not bothered by changing in front of Charlotte. They were basically like sisters anyway.

Pulling her hair into a loose ponytail, Genevieve was trying to think of what to cook the kids for breakfast.

"Hey Char, what did we have for breakfast yesterday?" jumping in success, Charlotte's shoulder length blonde hair bounced as she found the show she was looking for. The petite girl was so energetic yet tiny, Genevieve didn't know where she put it all when it came to handling the kids. Her excited, bright blue eyes ripped from the television for only a second in order to respond.

"Eggs and bacon i think..." her eyes grew big, "hey! I think this is a new episode!" Genevieve rolled her own as she watched her best friend fangirl over the new episodes of shark week.

"Ah dammit, that's what I was going to make them today..." the kids were so picky over what they wanted to eat; they would fuss over the littlest things. And better yet, Mother Captor put her of all people on breakfast duty for the week. Genevieve couldn't cook squat for herself, let alone for a whole six tables of children.

Charlotte started laughing at the face Genevieve was making, "You're concentrating hard huh? Maybe you should just head to the library for a cook book, chef." she smiled and pointed to the the wall at her left.

Genevieve shot her a displeasing look before leaving their room for the small library that was right next door. Even though they had both been to the room countless times before to hang out, she never liked going by herself. She would always get this strange feeling as if someone was watching her, or that there was a presence other than herself in the small room.

Walking up to the thick double doors, she swallowed hard as she felt the pang of nervousness run through her system. It was no big deal, she could do this. It was just a stupid room filled with old books, nothing more. There wasn't anyone else there, heck; who would want to hide out in a crowded, dusty old room filled with books and useless knickknacks?

Ending her self pep talk, Genevieve rested her hand on the rough wooden surface, took a deep breath and pushed the doors open. Immediately, the smell of dust and abandonment rushed around her as she stepped into the room. Partially covering her nose, she searched the wall to her right with her hand for the light switch.

Lights on and smell fading, she began her search for the cook book Charlotte was talking about. Was there even a damn cooking section in this place? The room was probably no bigger than an average spare bedroom. Just big enough to fit about six bookshelves back to back and two big red arm chairs. She squeezed herself through one of the openings of a bookshelf.

Exploring and rummaging throughout the library for about ten minutes, Genevieve had given up and was about to leave. She was currently in the science section. It was filled to the brim with chemistry, physics and element books, something Charlotte would enjoy being the nerd that she was. The smell and dust was overwhelming her, she had already had a sneezing fit minutes before.

Looking behind her, she saw something that was quite interesting. There were a couple of torn, weathered papers shoved into a little handbook that suddenly caught her eye. The books that were in the small library were all either donated or new, so they didn't have any older ones. Not since they had to evacuate five years ago in order to clear the room of asepsis.

She didn't know what the feeling was, but she was attracted to the small book for some reason. As if it was calling her. The small black leather notebook was coarse as she reached out and grasped it from the lowest shelf. Almost ancient like, she turned it around in her small hands, tracing the odd circle that was etched onto the old, cracking leather. She wondered where it could have come from, or who could have put it there.

Brows furrowing, she found that the circle was more eccentric and complicated than she had thought. It consisted of many circles within the largest one, she noticed a square, and numerous triangles with littler circles, symbols and weird writings scribbled onto them. She had never seen anything like it, it was almost mesmerizing.

Intrigued by the artistic side of the small book, she untwisted the little leather binding and flipped to the following stained pages. The first thing that caught her attention was the amazing penmanship and carefully placed drawings that took up the old paper. It looked as if someone had taken a long time, put a lot of heart into the little thing.

The patterns made her dizzy, and the long complicated words had her stumped. What the heck was this book about?

Holding the booklet higher above her head for the light to reach it, she was interrupted by the sound of a tapping foot ringing throughout the tiny library. Groaning, Genevieve knew exactly who it was, and she wasn't in the mood to be harassed again by the old hag.

Hiding the small book in her back pocket, Genevieve stood alert as Mother Captor glared into her soul. The woman just loved to ruin Genevieve's moments of relaxing. Not wanting to deal with the irritating bat, she quickly walked past her with a numb apology and slipped down the corridor towards the stairs.

...

After the kids were exhausted and full of food from dinner, Genevieve made her rounds to each bedroom. It was her nightly chore. To make sure all of the children were in bed by exactly eight o'clock, or else Mother Captor would have her head. Seeing that the little ones were sleeping, she quietly made her way up to her room.

It had started to rain half way through the day, and it was now just starting to downpour like crazy. A strike of lightening flickered the lights in the building as she sprinted up the stairs. She never did like thunderstorms, but she was distracted at the moment so it didn't bother her as much as it would have.

She had been waiting to read the book she had stuffed in her back pocket all day. The designs and words excited her for some reason, as if they had a special meaning behind their slightly stained pages. Genevieve would need help though, that much she knew from not being able to understand the elaborate words that were scrawled on the tiny pieces of jammed paper.

Quietly opening the door and sneaking inside, she ripped the book from behind her and tiptoed over to Charlotte. She was at the moment sitting on their desk chair, looking out at the storm through the window which was shaking the building with thunder.

Genevieve was just about to jumper-cable Charlotte when...

"What's up?" Charlotte was turned around and staring at her. Genevieve jumped a mile, almost dropping her little black book.

"What the? Hey! How come I can't ever sneak up on you?!" She stated angrily, pointing at the clueless short blonde. "And whenever I try, _you_ end up scaring _me_!" Charlotte just giggled, her blue eyes amused. She probably looked so childish.

"I don't know..." Charlotte returned her eyes to the brutal storm outside, "ever since I can remember, I've been able to tell when people are coming behind me."

Genevieve plopped down onto her bed, "Well I guess it's a good thing..." she opened the small leather notebook and touched the hard paper. Charlotte noticed the antique book and her eyes were automatically attracted.

"What do you have there?" she made her way over to Genevieve's bed and gently sat down next to her.

"I have no clue; I found it in the library earlier...isn't it cool though? Something about it..." Genevieve trailed off, embarrassed by talking about a book like that. She handed it to Charlotte, whose eyes sparkled when she felt the nice texture of the book.

"It was in the chemistry/element section..." Genevieve shrugged and Charlotte looked like she was about to pee herself.

Charlotte's smug smile was completely wiped off once she realized what kind of book her friend had found. Genevieve saw that Charlotte recognized the awesome symbols that were carved on the cover.

"So is it nice or what? I think we should try and figure out what those ginormous words mean." Genevieve snickered as she rethought what she had said. She was definitely a kid at heart.

Charlotte's face wasn't reassuring when she looked to her friend. Her expression was replaced by one of concern, she looked worried.

Charlotte laughed nervously "Oh my God...Genevieve…this is an _alchemy_ book!"

...

**Oki doki, so I hope you liked the intro to the story! This chapter was meant for introducing my main characters Genevieve and Charlotte. I had so much fun writing this, so please don't feel shy and leave a review! Things will start to pick up pace in the next couple of chapters I pr****o****mise :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Guten tag everyone! Thanks for the reviews mien lovelies! I really hope that you guys are enjoying it, i'm having a bunch of fun with writing this so don't hesitate to review so I know if I should continue with it or not :) as for music, I listened to some Kuroshitsuji and Skrillex. I know, good combo right? Not! *cough* *cough* :3**

...

"Oh my God...Genevieve...this is an _alchemy_ book!" Charlotte laughed nervously as she stared at one of the papers that were filled with frantic scribbles. Genevieve watched as her friend ran a quivering hand down the yellow page. Her eyes were curious yet careful and ready.

Genevieve wanted so badly to just read the book in silence, but she had to be interrupted.

Before she could say anything, Charlotte had hurriedly slammed the book shut and swung her legs off the side of the bed. She was already stalking across the room when Genevieve finally noticed. Confused, she uncurled herself from cuddling a pillow and sat up to watch as Charlotte paced and then stopped abruptly before the door.

Worried, she yelled out to her friend, "What is it? Is something wrong Char?"

Genevieve rose from her bed and walked quickly over to Charlotte's back. She seemed to be contemplating something as she just stood there with her hand on the tan doorknob. She was biting her lip as she thought; an old tick that Genevieve ended up catching from the shorter blonde.

"I don't know..." her sky blue eyes were staring at the old wooden door, "I just have a bad feeling about what's in this book." fist tightening around the black notebook, Charlotte huffed and began to turn the handle.

_'It's just a book, why is she getting so uptight?'_

"But why?" Genevieve grabbed Charlotte's wrist in order to stop her from leaving the room. She wouldn't let her leave until she fully understood why Charlotte was getting so bothered.

"From just one look at that page, I knew exactly what it was," Charlotte turned to face Genevieve as she let go of her wrist. "Why would there be such a thing in a children's library?" her voice was trembling, and her eyes were searching everywhere, refusing to meet Genevieve's.

Pointing to the book, Genevieve laughed trying to make the air less tense, "Well maybe if you told me about what's in here, I could help?"

Charlotte gazed up into her green eyes and huffed tiredly, "Alright, but this is serious." She saw Genevieve nod her head vigorously and sighed, "What am I going to do with you?"

Smirking, Genevieve dragged Charlotte to her bed where they both plopped down and opened the book. She didn't know why her friend was so worried over a stupid black book, but she saw that Charlotte was nervous so she bared with it.

Lying open between them, a bunch of crisscrossed shapes that were inscribed in a circle was bolded with different colors and writings across two pages. The circle itself was quite lovely, it gave off such a mysterious awe that Genevieve couldn't recognize. Just looking at it made her feel relieved...which was weird because she hadn't felt like that in a long time.

Charlotte had started her rambling; pausing in between sentences to explain pictures and diagrams. She had agreed to Genevieve's begging and they were both calm again.

"Well alchemy is more or less like a science," she glanced up to make sure Genevieve was following, "it basically deals with manipulating matter by using energy. This is called transmutation, and the symbol here is known as a transmutation circle." she pointed to the neatly drawn circle symbol that kept appearing page after page.

"For example, early records state that in medieval times, alchemists tried to change simple metals into gold during their research. But they had what is called a 'rebound' due to how they carried it out with test tubes and not fully understanding how to correctly transmute. After failing, most bystanders began to stray from the belief, causing people to forget the science entirely until it was barely practiced."

Genevieve's head snapped up as a thought struck her hard. If they could just use alchemy in order to turn a metal into gold, then all of their problems would be solved. They wouldn't have to live in the foster hell-hole, or take care of kids anymore. Not that they didn't love the children, Genevieve just wanted to leave and forget that she was a poor orphan who had nowhere to go.

Interrupting Charlotte mid-sentence, Genevieve pointed to the transmutation circle on the opened page. "So what you're saying is that we could _make gold_?"

Charlotte gaped at how Genevieve had casually ruined a perfect lesson without caring. Rubbing here temples, she groaned "No, not necessarily. It is much more complicated than that; you have to fully be aware of what you are doing and what you're dealing with." She raised her head, "There is a whole different side to alchemy that should not be dealt with, but I guess it's not in here. So...i was freaking out for nothing." She smiled to herself and rubbed her eyes, "God I'm such a worry wart."

Discouraged, Genevieve picked the book up and started to look at the fancy circle up close. Squinting, she noticed that there were words written nice and small between the biggest circle, and a smaller one just outlining it from the inside. After finding that, she discovered hidden passages in the intertwining shapes.

Snickering, Genevieve shoved the book in Charlotte's face and pointed to the drawing. "Hey, you know there's some writing squished in here."

Charlotte just rolled her eyes, "Yes very good, and there are shapes too!" she patted Genevieve's head like a little five year old. Charlotte has always been known for her sweet and innocent side. But when she was with the people that she really knew, she had a certain sarcasm that clung to her. It was almost amusing watching her change in character, that and it was funny when she would suddenly snap at an obnoxious kid.

Genevieve on the other hand had no patience for the kids, even though they were so cute. Her rule was that it was 'Big sis' way, or no way'.

Smacking her hand away, Genevieve fumed, "No I mean _read_ it! This doesn't make sense and it sounds so confusing..." she looked to the passages again.

Figuring that there had to be another copy of the writing somewhere, she started to flip through the tiny leather book until she came across a page that was loose from the original binding. It was crinkled and slightly burnt at the edges when she unfolded it. As if someone tried to dispose of it.

Shouting to Charlotte who had slid off the bed and onto her own, Genevieve waved the piece of paper in the air. "Hey, I found a copy of the writing!" Charlotte just stuck her tongue out as she read a chemistry textbook. That girl always had her nose in something, whether it be a romance novel or school book.

As she glanced at the page, Genevieve noticed that the passage looked more like a poem or something from a literature book. The words were so farfetched she had no way of understanding what it meant.

"Can I read this out loud? And you translate it into normal people English after?" Charlotte just nodded her head sleepily and flipped to her next page.

Clearing her throat obnoxiously, Genevieve started to recite what was written.

_ -'Pale white and black with false citrine, imperfect white and red. The peacock's feathers in bright colors, the rainbow in the sky above.'-_

Charlotte had dropped her book at the first line that was spoken, fear clearly written on her face as Genevieve continued to read out loud.

_ -'The spotted panther, the green lion, the crow's beak blue as lead. These shall appear before you in perfect white, and many more others.'-_

Genevieve felt like she couldn't stop reading even when Charlotte had jumped out from under the covers in order to grab the piece of paper away. The note seemed to be spellbound as it's strange words hypnotized her, forcing her to finish the last section. She dodged all attempts given by Charlotte to end the chant.

_ -'After the perfect white follows the grey and false citrine also. And after these shall appear the substance invariable.'-_

She finished with a heavy exhale and slight headache. Looking around her, she found that Charlotte was standing right next to her, shaking. Trying to rip the page out of Genevieve's hand, Charlotte began to complain and pout.

"What the heck is wrong with you? I told you I was going to read it!" Genevieve managed to unhook Charlotte's hands from the already crinkled paper. Her light blonde hair was falling out of her messy bun that sat lazily on her head, and her normal deep serious blue orbs were wide and scared. Staring into Genevieve's light green ones, Charlotte began to back off.

Looking satisfied with herself, she dusted her pants off and fixed her bun slowly, "I had an odd feeling that something bad was going to happen..." she laughed warily as she plopped back down onto her bed. Genevieve had to admit that she too had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach. Almost like the one she would feel when waking into the library alone.

Just as Charlotte had made her comment, a streak of lightening lit up the room, shaking the walls and leaving the two in complete darkness. Genevieve screeched, not being a devoted fan of the dark or thunderstorms. Charlotte struggled as she felt around the room for a flashlight.

"Turn the lights on! I can't see anything!" Genevieve yelped as she fell from her bed and onto the harsh floorboards.

Fumbling around on the wall, Charlotte found the light switch and flicked it, "You don't think I'm trying? The lights have obviously gone out!"

"What?! I can't hear anything; it's too loud in here!" Genevieve covered her ears just as their bedroom window shattered, inviting the ice cold rain to poor down on them. The wind was deafening and she was soaked to the bone as the rain pounded down on her back like little pebbles.

"What the hell is going on?! The damn door is locked!" Charlotte shouted over the chaos. She made her way blindly over to a shivering Genevieve and crouched down next to her, slinging an arm around her friend's shoulder. "It's alright! Stuff like this happens all the time in tall buildings!"

Genevieve nodded her head feverishly and strained her eyes open to take the scene in. But she immediately regretted it. Desperately wanting to clamp her eyes shut, Genevieve just watched in horror. She felt goose bumps and her blood start to pick up pace.

There was a huge eye staring up at them from the ground. It was as wide as the bedroom floor and glaring at them as they huddled together. Terrified, Genevieve couldn't find words so she just started hitting and shaking Charlotte hard and fast.

What was going on? What was that _thing_ on the ground?

Feeling her stomach drop, Genevieve began to feel bodiless as the eye turned to watch Charlotte next to her. From that point on, Genevieve lost it.

"C-cha-cha...cha-cha-char...CHARLOTTE!" Genevieve began screaming at the top of her lungs.

Charlotte swung her head up quickly at the sound of Genevieve's blood-curdling shouts, and immediately saw what was going on. She too started to scream, bringing Genevieve into an iron-bear-hug-of-death. They both sat there, screaming and trying to kick the huge eye.

They both stared wide eyed and breathless as their room was instantly replaced by a sheet of pure white.

...

Still holding onto each other, Genevieve quickly swung her head around. She was searching for something, _anything_ to be in the hollow white room that they were trapped in. But she failed, it seemed like they were the only two people, let alone _things_, in wherever they were.

Still shaking, Genevieve stretched out a trembling leg and tested to see if it was alright to stand.

Both standing, the two girls turned to look at one another. They were both sopping wet from the broken window letting the freezing rain in. That and they were totally a mess, both were still in their day clothes and their hair was clinging wet to their bodies as their eyes were still sprung open in horror.

Where were they? How did they get here? Were they dead?

Many questions raced through Genevieve's mind as she tried to stay sane and understand. But what was there to understand? They had no idea where they were, and they were alone.

Charlotte looked around sadly, "Are we dead?" she reached out a quivering hand to Genevieve's face and pulled on her cheek.

Shoving her hand away, Genevieve growled, "We're not dead, I refuse to believe that! And you're supposed to pinch _yourself_, moron!" she crossed her arms and started to look around again.

"Hello there, Genevieve..." suddenly a voice erupted from behind the two girls, "and hello Charlotte...I see that you both have arrived on time."

The voice eerily sounded as if there were more than one person talking at the same time. To make things even better, the voice sent deep chills up the girls' backs as it resembled a child's.

Genevieve spun around quickly as Charlotte turned slowly shuddering. She saw not an actual person, but a sandy black outline of a body that was smiling broadly at them when she turned. Genevieve could feel the hair on the back of her neck stand up as she stared at the thing.

"It's sad to say that you've broken some rules..." the creature continued, "and for doing so, you leave me no choice but to punish you..."

'_Rules? What rules? I don't know what this thing is talking about! Let alone what it is…'_

Genevieve felt her heart pounding in her ears as she thought of what they did wrong in order to deserve a punishment. Her thoughts skipped to the little black book resting comfortably in her back pocket.

_'The book..."_

The body outline slyly smiled in Genevieve's direction and continued to talk, "In order to obtain or create something, something of equal value must be lost or destroyed..."

Before either one could interject, they were being lifted from the ground by little black vines that resembled arms and hands. The grips of the tiny things were incredibly strong as Genevieve franticly tried to wriggle herself free. She looked over to Charlotte to find that she was frozen in shock, barely moving to get out of what was dragging her into a huge black door.

Where were these...things taking them?

"Where are you bringing us?!" Genevieve managed to scream out; she was able to find her voice.

"It's not _'us'_ anymore child," she saw the figure smile widely, "as your punishment, you will be separated and thrown in different directions, along with one of you losing something important..."

Genevieve tried hard to break from the ever growing grips as they were both hauled back into complete darkness once again.

...

**Charlotte**

Rubbing her head, Charlotte Loche opened her eyes to once again meet complete white nothingness. The only difference was that it was one hundred times colder, and she could see high mountains and a bright blue sky.

Head pounding in pain and body shivering, she managed to get herself to her knees as she checked her surroundings. There wasn't a single soul out there in the abandoned winter land that she was dropped into. Eyes widening, Charlotte came to the horrible realization that Genevieve wasn't with her. Swinging around, she started to yell and dig hastily in the snow for her best friend.

"Eve…Eve! Where are you?! EVE!" growing tired and lightheaded from yelling and the lack of appropriate attire, Charlotte began to feel woozy. Clutching her bare arms with numb prickling hands, she fell to the cold harsh ground. Warm tears flowing, she sat curled close to her body.

What had she done to deserve this? She understood that the thing in the white space was truth itself talking to them, but she still couldn't wrap her head around it. Why did a transmutation circle appear in their room?

Feeling drowsy and disoriented, Charlotte's eyes began to droop as she stared up at the pretty baby blue sky. She noticed the nice fluffy clouds that she always used to watch looking out of their window back in the foster home. She never thought that she would be wanting to go back there, but she would rather be there than literally freezing to death.

Before she closed her eyes, Charlotte was able to make out to two dark shadows in the thick snow that was just starting to fall. Smiling, she let her eyes wander for a bit longer.

Two figures in long deep blue uniforms came into view running in her direction, carrying what she figured to be guns.

"Gavin! Contact the infirmary ASAP...this woman needs immediate medical attention," a middle aged woman with long blonde-grey hair barked. A chunk of hair was covering her eye as her deep yet authoritative voice rang in Charlotte's ears loud and clear.

"Yes right away sir!" the tall man saluted the woman and reached into his coat to pull out a big walkie talkie and started to shout orders into it.

"And dear nephew," the woman glared at the taller bigger man in front of her, "do not drag your ass while you carry her in, she's lucky we found her when we did." the blonde woman swiftly turned and stalked back in the direction that they had come. "I will be having a few words with her once she wakes up."

"Yes sir!" the one named Gavin saluted once more and then turned down to Charlotte with uneasy blue eyes.

_'Why does he keep calling her sir?'_ was Charlotte's last thought before she drifted into a deep sleep.

...

**Genevieve**

Head aching, she opened her eyes and rubbed her forehead. There was a bump forming; she definitely knew that it would be hurting later on. She had fallen good she guessed, how else would she have gotten onto the ground under a tree?

Slightly dizzy as she lifted her head, she looked around puzzled.

Where was she? How did she fall?

She glanced to her hands and saw that she was soaking wet. How did she get wet again? She couldn't remember and frankly, it was starting to piss her off. What was going on, why couldn't she remember what happened?

Looking around, she didn't recognize anything. There was a big white wooden cottage a few hundred yards out in front of her with a big chimney billowing dark smoke.

Lost in the beautiful surroundings, she didn't realize the slight rustle in the bushes off to her side. She didn't even notice the horribly hidden person behind the tree she was under. She didn't see them until a girl decided to pop out and politely introduce herself.

"Hey you! What do you think you're doing?" she turned to meet a short girl with deep golden hair in a low ponytail and light auburn eyes. She was wearing a red shirt and black pants with army boots that clicked when as walked closer.

"I don't know what I'm doing here..."

The girl laughed and rolled her eyes, "Urey, you can come out of the tree now you damn wimp, she's just lost!"

She looked behind her to see a tall boy walk from behind the tree she was under. He had light blonde hair with dark blue eyes and was probably older than the girl who was shouting.

"Oh...okay..." the boy named Urey replied in an even tone, almost tired sounding.

"Here, let's get ya to your feet." the girl stretched an arm out and she grasped it thankfully.

But just as she stood up, the world seemed to rotate and she fell once again into a world of darkness.

...

**Alrighty guys! I hope you liked the chapter! Thanks for the reviews again and let me know if I should continue with writing it! Adios for now~**


	3. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone! Thanks for the reviews! Sorry if it was confusing as to why Genevieve said the human transmutation writings; all of your questions will hopefully be answered in the chapters to come :3 anyways, please enjoy the next chapter and reviews would be just lovely!**

…

**Charlotte**

Head throbbing and body aching, Charlotte wriggled in an uncomfortable heap of blankets. She had had the worst nightmare; she was sucked into a huge eye and ripped apart.

She yawned and shook the dream out of her thrumming head. Eyes still closed, she reached a hand out and rubbed her warm forehead. Dammit, she had caught a cold, her head was hot and her throat stung. What would the kids say if she showed up all sick and unable to talk? Groaning, she pushed herself up until she was properly sitting on her bed.

Blinking the sleep out of her eyes, Charlotte swung her head to the left to search for a sleeping Genevieve, "…Hey Eve…we have to get up…" But instead of looking at her best friend, she was greeted by a buff man with dirty blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He was sitting casually on an arm chair next to her…hospital bed?

Her eyes widened as she took her surroundings in. She could see the large man's mouth moving, but no words were coming out. Charlotte was at the moment blocking any and all noise out as she mentally freaked out. Looking down at her arms, she saw that they were bandaged with long strips of medical gauze. She had IV's sticking out of her right arm and her legs were on fire as she quickly hopped out of dreamland and into real life. Her nightmare was the reality.

"…What am I..." she whispered to herself as she tugged on the IV in her forearm, it was feeding her clear liquid as a heart monitor beeped behind her. "What am I doing here?...I'm supposed to be in my room…" she snapped her head up once she realized that the tall man had started to guide her hand away from the IV.

"Miss, I don't think you should be doing that." His gruff voice was gentle yet loud and straightforward. She slapped his hand away; who was this man, and where the hell was she?

She flipped the hospital covers over her body to inspect her lower half hurriedly. She was wearing a patient's nightgown and her legs were also bandaged up to her mid thigh. Why was she in so much pain? She rubbed her dry throat tenderly as she traced the surrounding walls with her eyes.

Well she definitely wasn't in a hospital even though she was lying in a medical bed with a patient's outfit on. The white walls were plastered with maps and pictures of people she had never seen before. The whole room was consisted of at least ten beds and a big desk off to the side. No one else was present in the large bunker type room except for herself and the large man.

Turning around, she glared at him, "Who are you?" he raised his blonde eyebrows in surprise, lifting both hands up in a motion to calm her.

"Woah little lady! I was just ordered to carry you in." his deep blue eyes shone with concern as he stood up from the chair. He was wearing a long dark blue uniform outlined in gray with yellow trinkets and different colored buttons pinned to his big coat. She figured military, but why on earth would she be at a military base?

Pictures flashed through her mind as he started talking. Images of a white room with a huge gray door slammed into her painfully. Small long arms dragging her down as she looked over to Genevieve, who was trying to fight against the tight grips as they were erasing them like information. A sandy black figure with a wide cruel smile stood across from them, talking of punishments and rules. Gripping her head, Charlotte cringed at all of the returning memories that pounded back into her forcefully.

She suddenly felt strong arms wrap around her as she shuddered, "Miss...Miss! Are you alright?"

Charlotte pushed the arms aside and sat breathless on the bed, beads of sweat forming on her brow. "Tell me why I'm here…" she looked up to once again see pitying eyes stare down at her. The man was definitely ripped from what she could tell just by through his opened coat. He had an odd curl protruding from his mop of blonde hair; she had never seen a hairstyle like that before.

Sighing, the man stood up and ruffled his hair booming a laugh, "Well we were hoping you could actually tell us that one."

Charlotte snorted, "How am I supposed to tell you, if I have no idea myself?" she huffed and sat back down against the pile of pillows behind her. Wincing, she had almost forgot, "Why am I all wrapped up anyways?"

Fumbling with the bandages on her arms, the man sat back down, "One of our Corporals saw you just outside the main doors when we were doing the yearly inspection," he sat with his arms on his legs, propping up his head as he talked in his booming voice. "You were half unconscious when we reached you, and you were already showing signs of minor frostbite. You were lucky we found you when we did or else you could have gone into hypothermic shock or worse." He sighed tiredly, "and the gauze is to ensure that you don't lose your limbs or get sicker than you already are." He eyed her as she started to unravel the wrappings.

Peeking under the white gauze, she could make out pink irritated skin that stung in the welcoming crisp air of the room. Despite being inside, it was still chilly. Groaning, Charlotte realized that she was being rude to the person who had saved her life. Turning to face him, she smiled slightly and stretched out a small bandaged hand.

"I'm sorry about earlier," his hand warmly wrapped around hers entirely as he shook strongly, "my name is Charlotte Loche." He smiled showing slight dimples, she swore she could have seen little sparkles surrounding him as he did.

"Don't worry about it young lady, I can see that you've been through a lot." He suddenly stood shouting in a deep sing-song voice, "Major Gavin Armstrong at your service!" he finished it with a smile and tensed his huge muscles.

Charlotte laughed, "No need to be all official, I don't mind."

He lifted his blonde head and shot a questioning gaze at her, "Miss Loche, where did you say you were from? You probably have parents that are worried about you."

Charlotte glanced down to her hands numbly. How was she supposed to tell him that she didn't have a family?

"Oh no, they're probably alright," she laughed and scratched the back of her neck making it seem like no big deal, "and I'm from New York; New York City to be exact."

Gavin scrunched his face, obviously thinking deeply about something, "New…York you said?" Charlotte nodded her head smiling. He looked like he was about to say something, but was interrupted by the slamming open of a door.

Gavin immediately straightened up and saluted, "General Armstrong sir; the patient has recovered and is now conscious."

A slim aged woman appeared in the doorway holding some kind of sword that she used as a staff. Cape billowing behind her, the atmosphere surrounding her frame was that of a harsh powerful woman. Noticing the same last name, Charlotte figured that they were related somehow. They had the same deep blue eyes and color hair, but didn't share the same aura as each other. Frankly, just looking at the woman's icy gaze was enough to have Charlotte shrink back and hide behind Gavin's shoulder.

She had to admit though; the graying woman stalking towards her was very pretty for her age. She had a long chunk of hair covering her right eye that bounced as she moved. And she had a set of full lips that kind of reminded her of Angelina Jolie's.

"Thank you Major Armstrong, I can take it from here." The General's voice was clear and dominant as she held a steady gaze with Charlotte. Whimpering as Gavin nodded to leave, Charlotte sat back on the bed and stared at her bandaged hands. She didn't want the only person that she knew to leave; she was so intimidated by the woman now taking a seat next to her hospital-like bed.

The woman crossed her legs and rested back in the arm chair, "I hope my nephew wasn't too bothersome for you," her voice seemed bored yet authoritative, an odd combination but it worked for her.

Charlotte shook her head, "No he was fine," she couldn't bear to talk with such an aggressive women; they scared her and made her feel tiny. The General leaned forward and measured Charlotte's profile with her gaze.

"How old are you?"

"Seventeen," Charlotte mumbled, still looking at her hands.

"Seventeen? You should still be in school…" she huffed and sat back up again, "never mind that. What were you doing outside the Briggs gates?" her booming voice rang in Charlotte's ears.

Charlotte looked up to the woman who was now glaring at her, "The _what _gates…?" the woman scoffed and leaned in closer to Charlotte.

"Don't tell me that you haven't the slightest clue of where you are." Her stare was too warlike, Charlotte could tell she was serious about her job.

Looking around the room again, she spotted a map on the wall with coordinates and weird writings. "Am I in a military base?"

Sneering, the General banged her sword-staff on the ground, "Don't play stupid with me girl. I was nice enough to be civil before…where are you _from_?" she talked slowly as if Charlotte had a problem hearing.

Rolling her eyes, Charlotte spoke in the same slow manner, "I live in New York City, and I work at a foster home."

Twisting her face like Gavin had done, the woman laughed, "Oh do you? And why haven't I heard of this...New York City?"

Charlotte stared at the woman as if she had been living under a rock her whole life. Who doesn't know about _the _New York City? She was starting to feel uncertain of where she was. But then a thought smacked her in the head.

_'That's right! Something must have happened when Genevieve triggered the transmutation circle!' _

Proud of her smart thinking, Charlotte turned to the General who looked very thrown off and annoyed. "This might sound a little farfetched but; do you happen to know anything about...alchemy?"

Once again, the older blonde scoffed, "Do you really not know where you are?"

Charlotte shook her head, "Can you at least tell me what country I'm in? So I can find a way home?"

"What makes your tiny brain think that you're leaving so soon?" she stood up and began to walk to the door, "your in Amestris now, under the custody of me; General Armstrong, and will be interrogated later on today. That is all."

And with that, the woman nodded to someone in the hall and stalked off. Talk about bossy, Charlotte had goosebumps just chatting with her for a couple minutes.

Seeing Gavin walk back into the room relieved her. Finally, someone who was nice enough to listen to her. He returned to his seat next to her bed and watched as she pushed herself back up again.

"Hey Gavin," he looked surprised that someone had used his first name, "where's Amestris? Germany or something?"

Gavin looked confused again as he processed her question, "I'm not sure where this _Germany _or New_ York City _is, but you're now in the Briggs Fortress in North City if that helps at all."

Where the hell was she? She was surrounded by people who didn't even know where Germany was?

An idea popped into her brilliant head, "Is there a newspaper anywhere in here? I'm kind of bored."

She watched as Gavin rummaged on the desk before finding the morning paper. He walked over and gingerly set it on her lap. Sparking a lead, Charlotte automatically looked to the date.

_-'Wednesday, August 21, 1938'- _

_'It's the same day...but the date is what scares me.'_

_She _probably read the title of the newspaper a dozen times before she started to laugh. Gavin carefully stared at her, ready to push the morphine button to calm her down.

She continued to laugh making her sides hurt, "this is a joke right? It can't possibly be true..." she opened the newspaper and eyed at the stories. There was a short passage that caught her attention, one about a big storm that had ruined a couple small businesses earlier in the week.

"Miss Loche are you alright?" she heard Gavin as he stood up to walk to her side.

"Yeah, um...when did you find me again?"

He reached over and pressed a glowing button on her bed, "around noon on Tuesday; there was a huge blizzard about to blow through so we were checking the markers and paneling."

She nodded her head slowly, "And what's the year?"

He shot her a worried glance, "We're nearing nineteen thirty-nine...is something bothering you?"

Her heart started to pound rapidly as she thought of the possibility, "Hand me my shorts."

He eyed her once more before strutting over to a bin and retrieving a sealed clear bag. Inside were all of her belongings; a pink tank-top, black shorts, and pair of red converse. He handed them to her gently and watched as she ripped it open feverishly.

Grasping her black shorts, Charlotte smirked as she dug a wrapped hand into her back pocket.

_'The head mothers have us keep our information cards with us at all times. Now if I can only...got it!' _

Finding what she was looking for, she laughed in success and shoved her prize into Gavin's large hands as he peered over her shoulder. Lifting the hard plastic card up, he looked back down to Charlotte who was looking very proud of herself.

"And what's this?"

Charlotte rolled her eyes and pointed to the corner of the card, "Look at the date."

Squinting, Gavin read out loud, "January sixth...two thousand and twelve." he peered back down to her, unfazed.

Suddenly, his tiny blue eyes widened in shock as he processed what he had just said. He backed up dizzily and plopped onto the chair, hand massaging his face.

"You understand why I'm confused now?"

He laughed, "If this is true young lady, then yes I understand. But, I still don't know if we can trust you or not; you did end up passing our security..." he wavered at the card again.

"I can tell you how it happened if you want."

"You remember how you got here?" he asked surprised, straightening up, "we thought you would have some memory loss from the freezing temperatures."

"No I recall perfectly; it just depends upon if you want to believe my alibi..." sarcasm was thick in her voice as she smiled slightly.

...

(1 hour later) **Gavin T. Armstrong**

Major Gavin Armstrong all but flew down the hall as he searched for his aunt. The story he was just told by the small girl in the infirmary had sent shivers down his spine as he recalled memories from his father's past career.

His father, retired state alchemist Alex Louis Armstrong, used to tell him war stories of a golden haired boy who saved Amestris with the help from his armored brother.

Spotting a phone, Gavin made a b-line for the tiny thing hanging on the wall.

"Direct me to General Armstrong at once!" his deep voice bellowed down the never-ending hall.

A woman's voice responded coolly, "Transferring...one moment please."

The line rung for a moment before he heard it pick up, "This better be important." General Armstrong's chilling voice rang in his ears.

"General, we have a situation concerning the young lady in custody." he heard his aunt heave a sigh from the other line before answering.

"Major, you'll be scraping icicles for a month with your bare hands if I come down there for nothing after I just left."

"Sir, i would not be asking you if it wasn't of importance. She is claiming to have seen the truth." He waited for a response as he realized he accidentally pushed a soldier to the ground on his desperate mission, he nodded in apology.

The General responded quickly, "I'll be down immediately."

* * *

Not even a minute later did Gavin see General Armstrong storm out of an elevator near the infirmary. The major saluted in respect and walked to his aunt who was grumbling something to Lieutenant Major Miles as they met him halfway.

"You'd better not be pulling anything Major," the General spoke fixedly at his large frame, "if this _girl _is telling the truth, we might have to contact him."

Gavin nodded his head, "Sir, I responded based upon what was said. It seems that she believes fully in what she is claiming."

Narrowing her eyes, the General briskly walked passed him and towards the door to the infirmary, "Let's go then. I had a feeling she wasn't fully telling us what she knew."

"General! I need to tel-" he was caught short by an icy glare from his aunt. He needed to tell her about the strange card the girl had with her.

"Are you coming Major? Or would you like me to personally introduce you to the icicles outside my office?"

Gavin nodded shuddering slightly, he had learned his lesson with not listening and pic-axing at the frozen beasts that could fall at any moment on a Brigg's soldier.

"Good," she turned her gaze to Miles, "stay here. No one is to enter unless they are summoned by me."

Miles nodded with a _'yes sir' _and turned to guard the double doors. Gavin shot a confused look to the General.

"She seems to only talk when you are present. You are coming in with me while Miles stands guard."

The General slammed the door open, once again making the petite girl flinch in her bed. He had sent for a nurse to come and bring her food, but he guessed she wasn't hungry since she hadn't touched a crum on the plate in front of her.

"It seems that you're interrogation has been moved up due to some new information," his aunt guided her older yet slim body to the side chair of the medical bed. "This is where I ask you questions and you answer without any."

Gavin watched as the young lady's face contorted into a smile and giggled, "I know what it means, I've seen CSI before."

"What...?" the General shook her head, "never mind what you do in your spare time, the Major has made me aware of your situation."

Charlotte shot hurtful blue eyes in his direction and sighed. Did she not expect him to tell his superior?

"I don't know how it happened exactly, but I know now that I'm at least half right." Charlotte guided her injured body to sit.

"And what do you think you have figured out?" he watched as the General eyed the girls figure. Charlotte appeared to have all of her limbs and organs, plus she could remember everything. He guessed his aunt wondered at what she had sacrificed in order to see the truth.

"Well I know for a fact that I'm not from here, let alone from your world."

"Why do you suggest such a strong accusation?" the General seemed interested now; hooked on the fact of a girl surviving the truth unscathed.

Charlotte turned to Gavin, he was standing next to the General and in front of the table with the girl's belongings, "Major, can you hand me the card?"

"Why yes of course young lady!" Gavin shouted happily in his booming voice that he had acquired from his father's bloodline.

General Armstrong twisted in curiosity, "The card?"

...

_To be continued_

**Oki doki so I hope you guys liked it! Just as a warning; I will be switching POV's every now and then, but the story will be mainly focused on Charlotte and Genevieve. Every time I upload, there will be two chapters, one with each focusing on my two main OC's and their dilemmas. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! Thanks again for the reviews! Feel free to tell me what you like, what you don't like, or if I get something wrong so I can fix it :) here's the next chapter~ **

...

**Genevieve **

Sweating and head pounding, she woke up abruptly. Painfully rubbing her forehead, she was met by a cool hand pushing her back down onto the warm quilts she was lying on.

Where was she? Why couldn't she remember anything from before waking up under the tree?

"Whoa there slow down, you need your rest," deep blue eyes were watching her carefully from a chair beside her. The middle aged woman was holding a wash cloth in one hand and forcing her body down gently with the other. She had light blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail save two long strands that rested elegantly down the sides of her kind face.

The woman continued, "Are you okay? Your name is Genevieve right?"

_'Why is she calling me Genevieve? That's not my...' _Her eyes widened in horror. She couldn't remember her name!

"My name...I don't remember!" she hurriedly sat back up and searched the room franticly. She was in a green bedroom with knickknacks and old books that rested on a huge wall that acted as a bookshelf. There was a big desk with papers strewn about, and older looking books lying aimlessly around the floor in odd piles. She noticed weird drawings and maps posted on the walls surrounding her.

She came to the realization that she was in a very messy, yet intriguing study. Something about the drawings brought a slight ache to the back of her head as she was gingerly pushed back down to the comfy couch.

"That's what your passport says at least..." The woman stretched behind her to a side table. There was a cracked black book, a tiny card, and a small silver cell phone resting on the wooden surface. The woman turned back to hand her the card.

There was a small picture of a golden haired girl with bright green eyes and a sad looking smile. Next to the picture rested a tiny column of information about the person. The girl was seventeen, and her name was Genevieve Greyson. The girl also had perfect vision, was five feet one inches and worked as an assistant.

An assistant for what? She tore her eyes from the picture and trailed to the top of the tiny solid card. In bolded blue, the title read _'Every Child Counts Foster Care Association'. _So the girl in the picture served community service in her spare time?

She turned to the woman who was eyeing her with concerned blue orbs.

"I'm sorry ma'am, but this isn't me. I'm not sure if this even looks like me." she gazed back down to the card in her hand, "I'm having a hard time with remembering…everything that has happened…" she rubbed the back of her head hesitantly. She wasn't making any sense. It was so frustrating! Why couldn't she just remember a simple thing like who she was?

The woman laughed warmly, "Oh please! Call me Mrs. Elric or Winry even," she swatted at the air, "and that is definitely you in the picture."

She watched as Mrs. Elric pulled a tiny mirror from the drawer in the faded side table, and handed it to her. "Don't worry; your memory loss will probably go away once your bump does. My parents were doctors." She reassured with a tender smile.

She slowly took the mirror and brought it to her face so she could see what Mrs. Elric was talking about. A pale girl came into view with deep confused green eyes. She was staring into the mirror also, her golden locks tangled in a messy bun at the nape of her neck. She looked tired and had a long scratch down her right cheek that had already started to scab over.

She reached her hand up to touch her face, and watched the girl in the reflection mock all of her movements. Her skin was slightly dirtied with a little patch of dirt on her forehead.

Well this was great; she knew her name but didn't know who she _was._She had the classic case of amnesia...wonderful.

Genevieve rested the mirror down and Mrs. Elric reached over to pick it up. Setting it back into the drawer, she turned to face a depressed and dirty Genevieve.

"Your welcome to stay until your memory comes back and we contact your family." she smiled sincerely. This woman was so nice, Genevieve didn't know if she would be as able to take in a ratty kid who didn't have a clue where she was.

"Thank you," Genevieve smiled and turned the card over to see if there was any contact information printed. But she immediately felt hollow as she gawked at the back of the tiny plastic thing. This had to be a joke.

_-'Is currently without any guardians or relatives. _  
_412 Granger St., Every Child Counts Foster Home Building #3_  
_New York City, New York'- _

Mrs. Elric caught onto her dismayed expression and looked over her shoulder curiously. Face hardening, she rubbed the back of Genevieve's sore back and hushed soothingly.

"I-it'll be alright." Genevieve peered up to meet sad blue eyes, "Why don't you go and wash up while I get a change of clothes ready for you?"

Shaking her head, Genevieve solemnly glared at the rotten plastic card, "I can't do that I'm sorry. I can't barge in on you like this and take advantage of your hospitality."

"Nonsense," the woman stood up straighter and peeked down to Genevieve strongly, "you even know yourself that you don't have anywhere else to go...so stay here until we get things figured out."

Sighing Genevieve nodded her head, feeling her eyes water she turned her head, "I'm sorry...I just feel like I'm intruding, I don't even know who I am. And your being nice enough to offer me clothes and a place to rest..."

Mrs. Elric rubbed her throbbing back once more, "Your Genevieve Greyson," Genevieve lifted her heavy head, "Your an assistant at a foster home and live in New York City..." the woman's face looked deep in thought.

"I guess you're right. I just need to get a hang of it is all." Genevieve smiled up to Mrs. Elric who hesitantly returned one back.

Mrs. Elric helped Genevieve to her feet and guided her to a bathroom down the long dark hallway. She guessed it was nighttime since no one else was around the house. She remembered the boy and girl who helped her at least…like that would aid her in regaining her memory.

"The towels are in the cupboard, the soap and everything else is in the shower," Mrs. Elric stood outside the door while Genevieve undressed from inside the bathroom. The whole house had a certain warmth to it that Genevieve couldn't describe. It smelt like fresh vanilla and all of the rooms were so unique and earth colored. She could get used to a home like this. "I'll slip your change of clothes in once I'm done with making you a late snack…"

Genevieve was about to call out in protest, but Mrs. Elric was already on her way down the hall again. Huffing, she turned around to face the mirror opposite the small showering area. She stared at her tired, worn out face and traced a finger over the shallow cut on her cheek. Maybe she had fallen from the tree after all. It was the only explanation…but the area she was in didn't really suit the characteristics of New York City.

She had lost her memory, but she wasn't stupid. She knew that she was in the United States because the little card said that she lived in New York. But how could she remember geography and not anything about how she got to a place like this? Let alone everything outside definitely did not resemble a big city. It was all so confusing; she couldn't wrap her head around anything.

Shaking her head, she stripped of what was left. Pulling back the shower curtain, she realized that it was very old fashioned. Who was she to care about other people's taste in showers? Snickering to herself, she pulled the chain and allowed the lukewarm water sooth her scrapes.

From just falling out of a tree, she was surprised with how many injuries she had. What Genevieve had thought was a dirt stain on her forehead was actually a bruise no bigger than a quarter, but it stung and oddly burnt at the same time. Brushing that thought to the side, she inspected her arms as refreshing water cleaned her cuts. They weren't deep, but they stung like crazy and there were plenty of them on her forearms and shins.

She gave up with searching her body after a while and decided to just relax for once and clean herself off

* * *

Out of the shower and drying herself off, Genevieve noticed that the weird sort of thrumming pain in her back had returned. Trying to reach behind herself and failing miserably, she turned to the long mirror again in order to check if it was a bruise. She wouldn't be shocked if it was, she had woken up on her back after all. It was a pretty high tree so it would leave a nasty trace behind.

But when she glanced back, she didn't find a bruise. Instead, there was a huge tattoo with circles and inscriptions running the length of her back all the way down until it rested at above her hips. The designs then wrapped themselves around her lower back and snaked around to her front in a line that connected near her bellybutton. Shocked, she touched the intricate circles and passages that were carved onto her body. They felt slightly warm to the touch and stung when she rubbed them. The whole tattoo looked like a huge tree; with branches going off in all directions. Each one was holding a circle or symbol with weird writings.

Great; this is just what she needed. Genevieve worked at a foster home, had no family members, she didn't know who she was and worst of all; she was a tattoo addict.

Moaning into her hand, she covered her body with the towel again and looked to the ground. Mrs. Elric had probably snuck in when she was taking a shower. There was a fresh pair of clothes neatly folded on the ground near the door.

"That woman…" Genevieve picked up the shorts and shirt, "should not have to deal with me like this; it's not fair."

She pulled the clothes on with ease; relieved that she didn't have any tattoos on her arms or legs. She pulled her hair into a wet messy bun at the top of her head and splashed some water onto her face. There; she was all clean and almost looking like a normal kid.

She heard a light knock at the door, "Genevieve dear, I have some food waiting for you."

"Thanks, I'll be right there!"

Genevieve grabbed her tarnished clothes and threw them into the laundry hamper Mrs. Elric had pointed out earlier. Making her way down the long hallway, Genevieve glanced at all of the pictures that scattered the wooden walls. They were all of different people, in different backgrounds and places.

'_It must be nice to travel all the time…'_ Genevieve mused to herself as she stopped at the last picture in the hall. She guessed it was a family portrait; she noticed a younger Mrs. Elric smiling proudly next to a tall man with golden hair and eyes. His hair was pulled into a low ponytail, and the couple stood while their two infants sat on the ground. Genevieve recognized the five year old version of the girl that helped her stand up. The boy was there too, he looked around the same age as the girl or older as he held red blanket.

"They grow up too fast," Mrs. Elric's voice came from behind Genevieve in the kitchen. "I still remember when I told my husband I was pregnant with the twins…" she had her back towards Genevieve and was gazing out at the black night.

Genevieve smiled warmly, "Where are they? I think your kids were the ones who helped me to the house, I'd like to thank them."

Laughing, Mrs. Elric turned wiping her hands on the front of her pink apron, "Nina and Urey are both state alchemists and my husband travels for a living." She looked at the warm bowl of soup resting at the round table, "you must think I'm crazy for having a military family but honestly, I admire their ambitions. They take after their father with always wanting to travel and seek answers; they keep me on my toes."

"No, I don't think you're crazy," Genevieve smiled and rested on a chair as she pulled the steaming bowl closer to her. "You're proud of your family and I respect that. If I had parents, I bet they'd be saying the same things."

The two shared a moment of silence before Mrs. Elric sat down and rubbed her shoulders, "So, any luck with the memory loss?"

Genevieve shook her head, "No not yet. But I know it will come back soon." She questioned if she should show Mrs. Elric the tattoo on her back, but shook it off with a sip of soup.

"That's right, just keep moving forward and everything will fall into place after a while." Mrs. Elric continued to rub her shoulder.

"Shoulder bugging you?"

The blonde just nodded, "I'm a mechanic so I work with my hands a lot. I also have a tendency to slouch during all nighters and I just can't seem to get rid of this one little…crick." Her shoulder cracked and she laughed in success.

Genevieve was shocked; she saw Mrs. Elric as a sweet house wife, not a person who worked with oil and machine parts.

"So do you work with cars or machines?" Genevieve glanced up to see Mrs. Elric smirking down at her.

"Nope, I work with people and their automails." She stated proudly with her hands on her hips.

She blanked, "A what?"

"An automail…" Mrs. Elric stared blankly at Genevieve. "You mean to tell me that you've never seen and automail prosthetic!?" she nearly shrieked out of her seat.

Genevieve winced, "No I can't say that I have." She continued to eat her soup. A thought struck her suddenly, "oh and what does an alchemist do? I haven't heard of those either."

She received the same blank look as before, "How hard _did_ you hit your head?"

Finishing her soup Genevieve turned to Mrs. Elric who was eyeing her curiously, "Why do you say that? Should I know what an alchemist is?"

"Well…alchemy is the basis of our government; it controls the ranks of our officers and can also have medicinal purposes."

Now Genevieve started to laugh, it was rude but she couldn't help herself. What was this woman talking about? The United States doesn't run its government based off of something called 'alchemy'. And the military definitely doesn't use it…unless it's a secret she just slipped up.

"What's so funny?" Mrs. Elric was standing now, a worried expression playing on her face.

"We live in the U.S. right? I've never heard of such a thing called _alchemy._" She laughed again.

"We live in Amestris Genevieve…I don't know what the…U.S. is."

Genevieve stopped her laughing fit, she was really confused now. If they weren't in America…then where was this Amestris Mrs. Elric was talking about?

"Then what's Amestris? A country in Europe?" she questioned but found no one standing in front of her. Mrs. Elric had started to speed walk back to the room Genevieve was sleeping in.

Genevieve just sat at the table; she was too sore to stand and chase after Mrs. Elric, so she called out instead. "Mrs. Elric? What's wrong?"

She heard the woman's muffled voice from a far room, "Genevieve I said call me Winry…and I'll be right there; I'm just grabbing some things." So she waited. Not too long after did Winry return to the kitchen with all of Genevieve's belongings. She shuffled over to the table and set each one down, first the book, then the cell phone, and then lastly her little picture card.

Winry pointed to the book, "Why did you ask me what alchemy was if you have a book that teaches you about it?"

Staring at the worn out book, Genevieve's head started to ache as she scrunched her face trying to think. "I-I don't…" she had to admit, the book looked pretty familiar. "I don't know why I have that book Winry." Winry eyed her, "Seriously! I have no idea what alchemy is!"

Winry's eyes looked worried as she pointed to the cell phone, "And what's this contraption?" she picked it up in her hands and flipped it open. She gawked at the screen and started pressing buttons. "I've never seen anything like this before! It's amazing!"

"That's a cell phone; it lets you call other people and talk to them wirelessly." This time it was Genevieve who was eyeing Winry and her excitement. "You don't have one?"

"No! I don't think anyone has one of these…" she flipped it open and closed several times as she talked.

"Why do you have my card again?" Genevieve tried to snap Winry out of her trance.

"Huh? Oh, I was looking at it earlier and saw something that kind of freaked me out but…" she picked the plastic card up and pointed to the right hand corner. "Is this the date?"

Taking the card from Winry's hands, Genevieve looked to the printed numbers in the corner.

_-'January 6__th__, 2012'- _

"Yeah that seems to be right…" Again, how the hell did she know what year it was? All she wanted to do was remember something, _anything_ about herself.

Winry took a few steps back and rubbed her forehead, "Genevieve…the year is nineteen thirty-eight."

…

(The next Day) **Winry Elric**

Winry Elric sat in her workshop sketching the soon-to-be new and improved automail she had been thinking about earlier. Edward would get a kick out of the new materials she was gathering for him. He always complained about how his metal leg wasn't light enough so, once he got home that afternoon, she would fix it right away.

Yawning, she stretched and decided that it would be a good time for a lunch break. The girl that had suddenly appeared in their back yard earlier in the week was sulking in Ed's study. Winry didn't know what to think of the small girl, it was a mystery.

After confronting her last night about her belongings, she and the girl had come to the conclusion that they would meet with Ed before she did anything further. When Genevieve claimed to her that she was from a different time, or even a different world, Winry had to stop the girl before she went insane. The poor thing was now in the study, shocked and alone. She had lost her memory from something, maybe a hit in the head? Genevieve did have a bump on the back of her head, but it wasn't big enough to cause amnesia.

Hearing the dog bark in the front lawn was what stirred Winry from her thoughts. Was it that time already?

Ed was home.

Running to the front door, she stopped suddenly when she noticed the door to Ed's study propped open. She peered in and at first she didn't see Genevieve, but then she caught glimpse of a bobbing golden head.

"Genevieve, what are you doing?" the girl snapped her head up and smiled slightly. After realizing that she wasn't from Amestris, Genevieve ran to the study and locked the door for the rest of the night. Winry couldn't blame her; she too would be extremely confused and torn.

"Oh umm…I'm just looking at some of these books."

Winry smiled, "Well get up, the man who wrote those books is in the front yard waiting."

…

_To be continued_

**Okay so I hope you like it! Review so I can see what you guys think so far! If you like it, hate it, or just have something to correct me on let me know. Especially if I have something to correct :3 I will be updating on the weekends because of school staring on Wednesday *shudders*. But anyways, have a good rest of your summer! Expect the next two chapters on Saturday :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys, I apologize for not updating in a while, I've had a lot of things happen to me in these past couple of months that had my mind sidetracked. But fear not, I will now be able to update consistently with ease so please don't give up on reading and following this story :) Love you all and I have special thanks to my two close friends that pushed me to the edge in order for this update to happen~ **

. . .

**Charlotte**

Thrumming her fingers on a desk, Charlotte sat watching Gavin as he rummaged through piles of report papers and different sized envelopes. After talking with General Armstrong, the woman came to the decision of putting Charlotte under the watch of her trustworthy nephew, Gavin Armstrong. Now, Charlotte didn't mind this, but what she did mind was the fact that nobody was telling her what was going on. They basically dropped her into a room and that was that.

Yawning, the short blonde girl turned her attention to the winter wonderland on the other side of the weathered window. She could hardly make out the clear blue sky that shone when she had first popped up in…where was she again? Fort Briggs…that's right. Sighing to her overlying boredom, she turned her attention back to the busied man stationed adjacent to her. He was stretching his arms and ruffling his hair, which made Charlotte practically spring up from her chair in hopes that he was finished with the paperwork.

"Are you done now?" She asked, wearily peeking down to the generous mounds of paper sprawled on his desk. She wanted desperately to just get her hands on a phone and call home, to the orphanage and Genevieve. Her lip quivered slightly at the realization that if she did in fact go home, there wouldn't be a cheery eyed blonde waiting for her. She mentally cursed to herself; this whole problem was her fault, she should have never let Genevieve read the little book.

Yawning himself, Gavin propped his head in one of his large hands and blinked slowly, "Not nearly…" he responded solemnly, "But, I'm now on break, we can talk if you'd like."

"Talk?" Charlotte heaved an exasperated sigh, "All I've done since coming here is talk." She plopped back down into her chair a bit down hearted. Were they even going to let her go at this rate? By the looks of it, she might as well be a prisoner under house arrest.

Hearing a low rumble of a chuckle, Charlotte glanced up to see Gavin shaking his head, "Sorry little lady, but that was necessary in order to understand your…" pursing his lips, Gavin stopped himself short from his thought, "…situation." He hesitated before flashing her with a small reassuring smile. "You can go look through the library if you want, you said you liked books right?" he nudged a thumb towards two thick wooden doors off to the side of the room.

"I did, yes." Charlotte eyed the doors curiously before getting up and striding over attentively; her legs were still sore from the healing frostbite. She turned to find Gavin staring out the window absentmindedly. She appreciated his efforts but, to tell the truth, Charlotte didn't dare trust anyone of these strange people. For all she knew, hell they could be a terrorist group, she thought, remembering the weapons and missiles she saw as she was guided to the office.

She looked back to the doors and cocked an eyebrow; she did like books after all. Pushing the doors open, Charlotte stepped into the vast room cautiously, her eyes trailing the aisles of bookshelves and racks. Books mounded in corners, on desks, on the window sill. She smiled to herself; she could definitely get used to this.

* * *

Setting an old book on the table in front of her, Charlotte had finally been able to locate the alchemy books stashed away behind some older cabinets in the room attached to the library. Sighing contently, she wiped some excess dust off of the worn cover and rested herself on the comfy chair next to a large window out looking the on-going blizzard and beyond. She wondered how something so beautiful, such as snow, could turn into something deadly when not treated right…she scoffed, how ironic, sounded just like alchemy.

"Alright…" she mused, flipping to the first yellowed page. It seemed that all of the books pertaining to the science were old and battered, as if no one had written anything new about it. She clicked her tongue remembering that alchemy was a disappearing fab and let it be.

Quickly losing herself in the mysterious curiosity that alchemy was, she didn't even notice when the door to the library creaked open slowly until she heard the faint footsteps getting closer. Her instincts kicked in and Charlotte whipped her head up, light blue orbs searching the shaded room, illuminated only with a couple lamps and candles.

Heart beating, she sat up straighter in her chair; she was so used to being able to hear people when they were sneaking up on her yet…she didn't hear, nor see anything. Clenching her teeth, she stood cautiously and stepped with ease over to the door. Gavin could be clearly seen working heatedly at his desk, she noted at how much the pile of looming papers seemed to have dwindled some.

"What are you looking at?"

Charlotte's skin tingled and she felt herself jump in fright at the low soothing murmur. Grabbing the door for support, she snapped her head around to meet her attacker…only to find a boy. He stood leisurely with his arms folded, dark brown eyes watching her smugly. Charlotte blinked and stood up, calming her heart rate.

"W-What the hell…" she breathed, slouching forward in relief.

The boy's lips merely twitched into a tiny smirk. Charlotte had to admit, he was attractive for a guy his age, about eighteen she guessed; edged jawline and stocky build, quite taller than her miserable five foot three inches. His dirty blonde hair falling messily at his ears, sweeping over his olive toned forehead the slightest bit.

"Quite the vocabulary for a tiny one such as yourself." The boy countered, leaning against a bookshelf near the doors. Charlotte inched away from him naturally, never being very sociable with people her age besides Genevieve of course. There was something about him that irritated her, she couldn't place it though.

"Excuse me?"

"Your height," the other blinked, "It is very petite even for a women, wouldn't you say?" his eyes steadied with hers a moment before Charlotte averted her own.

"My height has nothing to do with you," she snapped, getting annoyed with her new company. What was his problem? Didn't his parents ever teach him manners?

Charlotte puffed a cheek and crossed back over to the room Gavin resided in, the burly blonde lifted his head and an instant smile was plastered on his face once he caught sight of the boy following lazily behind Charlotte. Getting up from his desk, Gavin outstretched an arm and clasped the shoulder of the boy, who blinked and glanced up to the towering other.

"And what gives us the honor to have Rory Mustang with us today?" Gavin bellowed, ruffling the boy now known to Charlotte as Rory. Swatting the hand away in dismay, Rory shot one of his crooked grins and sat down in a chair of an empty desk.

"I was passing by and caught air of a captive…" his deep brown eyes found Charlotte solemnly as she returned to her own chair, directing all of her attention to the world outside of the window. Looking back to Gavin, the boy crossed his arms loosely over a black flannel button down and tilted his head, "We haven't had many 'visitors' so I decided to swing by."

Nodding, Gavin leaned on the corner of his desk and pursed his lips, "How's your old man? We haven't heard of anything yet."

Charlotte grew bored of the thick white sheet that was displayed before her and turned back to watch the two converse. So Rory's father worked here as well?

Averting his eyes to his hands, Rory spoke slowly, "Well I don't know what you're expecting to hear from me; it's not like he tells me anything," this interested Charlotte, the way the boy seemed to be internally annoyed by his father. "Not that I'd want to know anything anyways."

"Don't be so harsh on him," Gavin responded coolly, "He's just doing his job."

This comment obviously pissed Rory off. Lifting himself from the chair, he shoved his hands into his pockets, "Yeah I know, Ma nags me about it nonstop." He retorted, pushing the chair in. "She's always on his side..."

Gavin gave a tiny chuckle and shook his head, "And you know that's how you're mother is…she's used to protecting him." Rory snorted lightly and turned to leave the room. "You should stop by more often Rory," Gavin called to the retreating boy, "We still haven't finished our game." A bit of taunting was hinted in his voice, and Charlotte furrowed her eyebrows. "I believe the score is still two to one?"

Rory's form froze slightly in the doorway before swinging back around his face bewildered, "Are you kidding me old man?!" He nearly shouted, making Charlotte jump for a second time. "That last match wasn't fair, you tore my gloves off!"

Charlotte blinked. His…gloves? Were they boxers? She stayed quiet and watched, curiosity getting the best of her. Gavin pushed himself off of the desk and smirked.

"I don't remember doing such a thing." He scoffed and flexed an impressively large arm, "Do not deny my strength boy, it was obviously my beautifully rock hard arms that distracted you, giving me time to take the win!" He shouted in a sing-song voice, his deep roar ringing in Charlotte's ears.

Rory groaned in annoyance, "Enough with the self-worship giant! If it wasn't because of your cheating, I'd be the one winning." He slowly reached a hand into one of his back pockets. Charlotte was wondering of it was smart to stay in the same room as the two.

Gavin saw his gesture and a glint pooled in his eyes, "Ah, say what you want~…" Rory retracted his hand with a slight growl; he noticed Charlotte watching them and cocked an eyebrow.

Charlotte scrunched her nose in return and turned her nonexistent attention to the window. Something wasn't settling right with her impression of Rory…He was annoying, troublesome, cocky and complicated. Her eyebrow twitched in annoyance as she returned to thrumming her fingers in the desk.

Rory scowled to the back of Charlotte's head and walked out of the room, he'd never been looked over like that. As if he wasn't even there…usually people would swoon over him; especially the women. It couldn't be helped when you were the Fuhrer's son.

. . .

**I shall update soon I promise ^^ hoped you liked it~ the chapters will be shorter than they were in previous ones as a heads up. I'm concentrating on SAT's and school work so I apologize for the shortened chapters to come. **


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